2014-2015 Guest Artists

James Nova, Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra

November 7th, 2014 Riverside Recital Hall

In the Fall of 2009, James Nova joined the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra as its Second/Utility Trombone. Before joining the PSO, Jim served 8 seasons as the Assistant Principal/Second Trombonist of the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

Jim began playing the trombone at age nine in his home state of Connecticut. As a child he received his early musical exposure and training from his father, Anesti Nova. During high school, Jim studied with his first private trombone teacher, Assistant Principal/Second Trombonist of the Hartford Symphony George Sanders.

After graduating high school Jim attended the prestigious Curtis Institute of Music in Philadelphia. He received his Bachelor’s Degree there studying with the Philadelphia Orchestra’s then Principal Trombonist Glenn Dodson. Jim then moved to Boston to pursue a Master’s Degree on a full scholarship at the New England Conservatory of Music, studying with then Boston Symphony Orchestra trombonist, Norman Bolter. In addition to his college education, James attended the Pacific Music Festival in Sapporo, Japan and was also a member of the Tanglewood Music Center Fellowship Orchestra for three summers. After finishing his Masters degree, he freelanced in Boston for several years, substituting on a regular basis with the Boston Symphony Orchestra and the Boston Pops Orchestra, making several recordings and television broadcasts with both groups as both principal and second trombone. In 2001, Jim moved to Salt Lake City to join the Utah Symphony Orchestra.

From 2003 to 2007 he enjoyed playing at the Grand Teton Music Festival and recently played and taught at the Brevard Music Center in the summer of 2013. He is also the former second trombonist of the Pacific Symphony Orchestra in Orange County, California, former principal of the Rhode Island Philharmonic, former principal of the Vermont Symphony, and former assistant principal of the New Haven Symphony Orchestra.

Jim’s solo recording “Albanian Rhapsody” is a debut in both performance and composition for the father and son team, composer Anesti Nova and trombonist James Nova. All but one piece in this world premiere collection of compositions is for solo trombone and either string or chamber orchestra. The music is ethnically charged, deriving much influence and flavor from Jim and Anesti’s strong Albanian background. It is at times tragic, languid and yet uplifting as it chronicles (with the trombone as storyteller) the journey of the Nova family through hardships and eventual triumph over adversity.

In March of 2012, Jim made his solo debut with the Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, performing the Henri Tomasi Trombone concerto as well as his own arrangement of the famous Tommy Dorsey jazz ballad, “I’m Getting’ Sentimental Over You” which is the material Tomasi based his trombone concerto on.

Since 2012, Jim has found a new passion using recording technology to explore multitrack recording, also known as “overdubbing” and created numerous stunning recordings of challenging new arrangements he’s done of a variety of exciting repertoire for trombone choir. These employ a number of trombones: contra bass, bass, tenor, small tenor, alto and even soprano trombones! To hear these, got to www. soundcloud.com/jimnova.